Shimano Calcutta 700B??

[eyehead]

Do any of you guys have any experience with the 700's?? I need to put a new reel on my 7'7" Heavy Bucktail and am leaning towards it. Just looking for some feedback. Thanks guys!!!

[traveler]

I use a Calcutta 400; have a saltwater buddy who has a 700 and he said he wouldn't buy another, but I didn't ask why. What does the 700B have that you want? The 400 does the trick for me.

[eyehead]

For throwing double 10's and 13's.

[b1gf1sh1]

mainly it just holds alot of line. for trolling or long lineing mostly. great lakers love them. but they have the power to pull the bigger stuff that smaller reels have a hard time pulling for the average fisherman. personally for the bigger stuff i do fine with my Calcutta 400TE but i cast alot so i'm used to it. first few times out are tireing but after that i'm ok. for smaller to medium muskie lures i use my Calcutta 250 TE/DC with 50 lb Spiderwire. the offset gears on both of these reels are second to none. just depends really what you want it for. are you going to throw alot of cowgirls and showgirls?(showgirls got ##14 blades, made a few last year of my own before they sold them. three fish on two lures ) i'm fine with a 400 for that but you may not be. it's just to bad none of these bigger outfitters don't have a casting pool to try out reels and lures and that, huh? probly sell more high end stuff if they did. go to the duluth area forum and ask those guys. more great lakers there mabe they have some different insight.

[eyehead]

Yea I throw a lot of cowgirls/showgirls. I have been using Cardiff 400's which arent too terribly bad, but it would be nice to have something a little bigger that a guy can really burn em with the least effort possible.

Having a demo pool at some of the stores would be sweet. Kinda like trying out a driver on the golf range before you buy it. Is it June 7th soon

[b1gf1sh1]

honestly, a cardiff is a decent reel but it does have straight gears, kind of like the diawa luna. regular calcuttas have straight gearing also. the TE line have offset oversize gears that make pulling in larger lures ''almost'' a joy. burning a ##14 requires a motor if you want to do it twice in a row . IMO IMO. the allure of these big blades IMO IMO is the slow roll clicking, slamming, clacking , chaotic tornado like action they have. all three fish last year on my ##14's slammed it when i slowed up about ten feet out from me. at the end of the retrieve i slowed down some. their size IMO IMO makes burning unnessassary. june 7th i'll be fishing for walleye. good luck.

[cjac]

Hey eyehead,

If you're really throwing the bigblades a lot the 700 is an option. Have you also looked at the Abu 7000 reels? Good stuff, and a little easier on the wallet.

Another option is a power handle on your existing reels, they make a big difference. Just don't know off-hand if there is one for the Cardiffs. That said, they're a decent reel, just not built for the use you're subjecting them to with those big blades.

Chris

[eyehead]

Hey cjac,

I was in Scheel's the other day and asked them if they had a power handle for cardiff's and was told that shimano doesnt make one for them. I'll have to contact shimano about it. Im sure if I keep using them its gonna chew them up but it would be nice to have a handle on them for other lures anyways. Thanks for the advice!!!

[cjac]

I'm headed back to the Muskie Expo tomorrow, I'll ask around and see what I find out. I just can't recall off the top of my head!

[Random guy]

I have a couple 700s and they are decent reels.

Now I am a diehard Calcutta TE 300 user. I love em and they are great reels but when I get into the big stuff I really like the Abu 7000. I have had great luck with them and they are somewhat affordable compaired to the Calcuttas and the power handle on the 7000 really makes the reel.

[b1gf1sh1]

oops. that nameing ststem at muskie mayhem is so confuseing. the super model has the ## 14 blades(might be ##13's in a different sizeing system than my supplier uses) and the showgirl is a #8 with the 1/8 inch flashabou. tied up those three last year using .061 wire and could only find the 1/16 flashabou so i just used alot of it. had to pay like 4 bucks a blade, flashabou was 4 bucks, special extra thick brass body, beads, wire, VMC red hooks, all together they cost in the area of 12 bucks to make. IMO they are of higher quality for less than half the price i would have paid. mine are 15'' total length, with spro split rings. on one i did tie it with marabou but it did'nt produce anything. open water please

[sbro73]

Just Curious, what kind of rod are you using with the Calcutta 250 TE/DC, and what size lures? Sounds like a interesting combination, tho a pricey reel.

[TurnUpTheFishing]

I saw calcutta DC on sale last year as low as 199.99. I still kick myself in the butt every day for not snatching one up when I had a chance.

[bigbritt]

i made the switch to calcutta 700's last year and havent looked back. i was using the abu 7000's and burned through a lot of them. 4 hsn's and two c3's. the newer abu's just dont hold up to a lot of use. The older "made in sweden" 7000's were great. the reason a big reel like a 700 or 7000 is good. Because they have a huge spool and lower gear ratio, it makes the reel very powerful and they pick up a lot of line per crank (larger spool=more line grab). they make the cowgirls much more bareable. 400 calcuttas or 400 cardiffs are good reels, but just dont have the line capacity or power that these other reels have....they are too small, makin you work harder. the 700 calcutta has been great for burning small buctails, topwater, cranks and is the best bulldawg reel i have ever used. i would absolutely recommend it. If you want a reel for only cowgirl use, then the shimano trinidad 14 is a great option. This thing is all power and speed. but it does not have a line guide, so this reel wont work with a lot of other baits.

[b1gf1sh1]

i use a 7' 2''(gander mtn's brand) guide series IM8 mh/h muskie rod on both the 400te and 250 te/dc. broke the tip on 1 after three years and went to get another and the salesman said bring it in we'll replace it .too cool. for the 400te i have an 8' st. croix i use sometimes,mainly for trolling the 12'' or larger ''cranks''. believer, grandma etc. etc. but when i'm casting ##10/14's i use it too. it's a glass hibrid that takes the bounceing back and forth a lot better. plus the added length makes it easier. with the 250te/dc it just stays on the 7' 2'' rod. i like a 7'2'' rod because if i stand the way i ''want'' to on the front casting deck on my boat my tip is just at the waters surface. 7' i have to lean down, 7' 6'' i'm leaning back. with the 250 te/dc reel i can use the smaller salmo sliders and cast an unreal distance.i' mean really, unreal. lures like the x-slash baits, storm large stickbaits , ##8 #9/#6combo bucktails. the super shadraps are about

as large as i like to go. the 250te/dc will handle larger but a full year of pulling bigger stuff would wear out the plastic gears. and sending it to california to get redone midseason aint in the cards. just got both back about a week ago from there. they changed all the plastic gears, replaced the drag washers,the 400 had a handle problem (?)so that got fixed. changed the roller bearings and like two more. cleaned them up and lubed them. $109.00/delivered. think i'm going to try that tranlucent spiderwire on the 250 this year. i don't regret spending the money on these reels for a second. i just think if i have this passion for fishing then i may as well do it as comfortable as i can. with the 250 te/dc, untill you reel this thing in you can't know the meaning of smooth. it's unbelievable. only thing that i think is a draw back is i cant put it down if line is in the water. too afraid of a mishap. never leaves my hands.lol. anyway get your salesman to take a 250 te/dc out of the case and reel it in your hand a little. that smoothness/ease of cranking won't change even with a 7'' swim whiz on it.